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Editorial - Keeping gangs out of parks could be constitutional tightrope

Published: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 12:04 a.m.

Police, educators and public officials seem to agree that gang activity is a serious problem in the greater Wilmington area, and they are continually seeking tools to combat it. The latest possible addition to the arsenal is a still-under-construction proposal to ban gang members from city parks. It could help keep public places in the hands of the public as opposed to the criminally inclined, as long as it is applied with great care.

Although it is still a work in progress and not expected to come before the city council anytime soon, the initial proposal would allow police to charge gang members in city parks as part of a series of efforts to neutralize gang activity. A police sergeant saw the need for a tool to keep gangs away from places where children play after a 4-year-old found a gun in a city park.

The Wilmington Police Department has been working hard to identify and keep close tabs on gang members in an effort to let them know they're on notice. The strategy also involves having officers add a caseworker mentality to their bag of tools to help steer would-be criminals or past offenders to resources where they can get help finding a job or getting services they need.

The combination of positive options and serious consequences has proved effective in other areas and is showing promise here – either gang members repent and go straight, or they go to prison.

In attempting to keep gangs from taking over city parks, however, city and police officials should make sure they do not cast too wide a net. Keeping thugs out of our city parks and other public places where they've been known to cause trouble is the right idea.

But any method selected must be used with sufficient restraint to avoid trampling the constitutional rights of people who may not be doing anything wrong.

The last thing anyone should want is to put a suspected lawbreaker in a position to win a case against the city and its law-abiding taxpayers on constitutional points.

The Constitution draws the line between punishing people for what they have done and violating basic rights of assembly and movement because the police think someone might cause trouble.

While the courts have given police the benefit of the doubt in many cases, even the conservative U.S. Supreme Court has overruled measures that attempt to skirt due process.

In Charlotte, officials are using a new state law that permits officials to issue civil injunctions against gang members and people who regularly associate with them. The city has issued a nuisance abatement injunction against a local gang, barring members from possessing firearms, recruiting new members, or "driving, sitting, walking, gathering or approaching" each other in public, according to the Charlotte Observer. It is the first use of that state law and is being challenged in court, but this week a Superior Court judge issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the city.

Wilmington officials should watch the case closely as it proceeds through the courts. The outcome could help determine what shape this and other cities' proposals take. Before any proposal goes to the council, the legal staff should make sure the city is on rock-solid constitutional ground.

Gang activity represents a significant portion of the criminal population. Police should use every tool legally available to them to safeguard parks, public spaces and neighborhoods – as long as the methods fall within what the Constitution permits.

<p>Police, educators and public officials seem to agree that gang activity is a serious problem in the greater Wilmington area, and they are continually seeking tools to combat it. The latest possible addition to the arsenal is a still-under-construction proposal to ban gang members from city parks. It could help keep public places in the hands of the public as opposed to the criminally inclined, as long as it is applied with great care.</p><p>Although it is still a work in progress and not expected to come before the city council anytime soon, the initial proposal would allow police to charge gang members in city parks as part of a series of efforts to neutralize gang activity. A police sergeant saw the need for a tool to keep gangs away from places where children play after a 4-year-old found a gun in a city park.</p><p>The Wilmington Police Department has been working hard to identify and keep close tabs on gang members in an effort to let them know they're on notice. The strategy also involves having officers add a caseworker mentality to their bag of tools to help steer would-be criminals or past offenders to resources where they can get help finding a job or getting services they need.</p><p>The combination of positive options and serious consequences has proved effective in other areas and is showing promise here – either gang members repent and go straight, or they go to prison.</p><p>In attempting to keep gangs from taking over city parks, however, city and police officials should make sure they do not cast too wide a net. Keeping thugs out of our city parks and other public places where they've been known to cause trouble is the right idea. </p><p>But any method selected must be used with sufficient restraint to avoid trampling the constitutional rights of people who may not be doing anything wrong.</p><p>The last thing anyone should want is to put a suspected lawbreaker in a position to win a case against the city and its law-abiding taxpayers on constitutional points.</p><p>The Constitution draws the line between punishing people for what they have done and violating basic rights of assembly and movement because the police think someone might cause trouble.</p><p>While the courts have given police the benefit of the doubt in many cases, even the conservative U.S. Supreme Court has overruled measures that attempt to skirt due process.</p><p>In Charlotte, officials are using a new state law that permits officials to issue civil injunctions against gang members and people who regularly associate with them. The city has issued a nuisance abatement injunction against a local gang, barring members from possessing firearms, recruiting new members, or "driving, sitting, walking, gathering or approaching" each other in public, according to the Charlotte Observer. It is the first use of that state law and is being challenged in court, but this week a Superior Court judge issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the city.</p><p>Wilmington officials should watch the case closely as it proceeds through the courts. The outcome could help determine what shape this and other cities' proposals take. Before any proposal goes to the council, the legal staff should make sure the city is on rock-solid constitutional ground.</p><p>Gang activity represents a significant portion of the criminal population. Police should use every tool legally available to them to safeguard parks, public spaces and neighborhoods – as long as the methods fall within what the Constitution permits.</p>